Legend of the Godstones
by thedraconicwerewolf
Summary: Legend says that the world is tied down by the chains of fate. Whether a game of chance or defeat in battle; all of life is dictated only by the whims of the gods. It is but a myth, however; a story briefly mentioned when one blesses or curses their luck. Regardless, it hasn't stopped fortune seekers from trying to find ancient relics that are said to contain the power of the gods.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everybody! Welcome to a brand new story of my making, this time taking place in the wonderful world of Dungeons and Dragons! This should prove to be a very interesting writing experience; set in a world based on a tabletop game where there are no set characters and story line of any kind. Is it really fair to still consider this a piece of fanfiction when the players themselves are always in charge of the story setting and the things that go on around them to some degree?

Anyway, the reason why I'm starting a new story is because I've recently gotten bit by the D&D bug. I've enjoyed playing the tabletop version of the game, but it is hard to find groups to play with or to make the time to play for an hour or two. As such, I decided to write out my own story. In this case, I am both the Dungeon Master and the player, roles that should never be put together into one person yet must be necessary in this case. For all intents and purposes, all the stories I've written practically follow that mindset; this story should prove no less different or difficult.

That said, things are going to be done a bit differently in terms of how I've written my other stories. I will get into that at the ending author's note. Until then, I wish you all a happy read!

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

"Is there anything else you'd like, sir?"

The customer, caught off-guard by the other's appearance, immediately sat up straight. He knocked over a cup of cider in the process that thankfully spilled away from him. It was also a good thing he was dining at the outdoor patio where most were not at because of the overcast weather. It helped him to avoid any further embarrassment.

"N-No, I'm good!" he stuttered out. His voice was like that of a teenager growing into his voice. By Dragonborn standards, however, he was a young man two years into adulthood. "I'll just pay the tab now."

The elvish man was clearly amused as he watched the customer try to clean the mess. He made no move to help, though. Instead, he reached into his vest and pulled out a small leather book. He then said after flipping through a few pages, "One Dragonborn customer; a leg of braised lamb sided with bread and cheese along with a mug of hard apple cider. That'll be two gold pieces."

The blue scales above his left eye shifted upwards slightly. "Sounds a bit steep for a simple meal."

"Not when you dine at one of the finest restaurants in town," the elf proudly proclaimed. "Food this good needs to be meticulously prepared to achieve its flavor. The cheese is made in-house and aged for at least a year. The lamb is from the finest cut possible and seasoned with only the freshest of ingredients. I wouldn't dare try to serve anything of lesser quality. I have certain standards to uphold, after all."

The Dragonborn had his suspicions about that being true. For one, the cheese tasted like it was aged for only a short time. The lamb was kind of stringy, a sure sign it was anything but a fine cut. It also tasted like the cook hardly used any flavorings to season it. He honestly had better in other towns he travelled through. The elf was definitely overselling his food. Either that or he used some expensive spices that somehow failed to give the meat exceptional flavor. Whatever the reason, two gold pieces was definitely a high price to pay.

Unfortunately, he had no standing to complain about it now. After all, he finished all the food they served. It would be in poor taste to counter the elf's boastful words at this point. That and he was dealing with a high elf. He would most likely find some way to make himself sound right despite being painfully wrong. Instead, he silently fished into his leather coin purse and pulled out a two tarnished gold coins. He then tossed them at the man who caught them with little effort.

"Thank you," the elf said with a professionally emotionless smile. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

He was about to refuse before remembering this was his first time in town. He needed to know the area lest he wandered around like a lost puppy. Despite not liking the elf, he was not one to turn down an offer for help. "Well, perhaps you could tell me a bit about the area. I just arrived today, and I'd like to get to better know the place."

"I see. I take it then you're a traveler?"

"In a sense. It's more that I'm here on business."

"Business, huh? Interesting." It was clear in the elf's tone he did not believe the other. It made sense, to be honest. Most people claiming to travel for business were often dressed in more than simple clothes under a traveler's cloak. That and the leather pack tucked securely between his legs were the only notable belongings he had. Unless he had a wagon full of goods that managed to miss the town's attention; those were not signs of someone coming around for business. "Do you mind if I asked what kind?"

"Personal," the Dragonborn simply said. "Some private matters; not something I'd want to talk about to a stranger. I'm sure you understand. You wouldn't want to tell me about the sordid affairs of your restaurant, right?"

The elf was clearly not pleased with the answer, especially when it was countered with a veiled jab at his business. Still, he accepted it with a slight nod. "I suppose you're right. People don't want their whole lives laid bare to the world. The simplicity it'd offer could easily disrupt the balance of power.

"Unfortunately, I can't be of much help to you," he added with a wry smile. "I'm rather busy today. We're short on able laborers, and the kitchen staff has been performing poorly. It's amazing how the food's still managing to come out at acceptable standards. It's almost too much for me to handle, but I've worked through worse."

"Sounds like you got your hands full," the other said. He started wondering, however, if the food would disagree with him later.

"When is it never? Anyway, I wish you all the best with whatever it is you hope to finish here. Just beware of the street urchins. They're likely to pick your pocket while another amazes you with magical feats. Though I'm sure nobody would dare steal from you."

"What was that?"

The elf simply smiled before walking back into his restaurant.

"He's got to be of high elf descent," the Dragonborn muttered as he gathered his things and went on his way. "What other kind is there that makes acting above everyone else an all-day job? You think he'd at least bother telling me some things about the town! And then there's him making me into some kind of rough-eyed brute. Oh well, at least he's out of my scales. Time to do some surveying and figure out what's in this town."

He barely went a minute into the plan, however, until something caught his attention at the next corner. Heading towards him from the other end of the street was a familiar sight he was not keen on seeing any time soon. It was an elf, this one also of the high elves, with whom he had run-ins with in the past. Even though the streets were a bit crowded, he recognized the face. While having expected to meet again at some point, he did not think it would be so soon after their last run-in.

"Are you serious?" he groaned. He barely managed to avoid having a couple crash into him because of his abrupt stop. While the woman merely cast him a dirty look, the man bumped his shoulder in protest. The Dragonborn noticed none of that, however. "Why's he walking around town? I thought he'd be keeping himself in his luxury room at the local inn like usual! He hates being outside unless absolutely necessary!"

If past experience taught him anything, it was that the elf was someone he did not want to pick a fight with. The last time they fought, he got some serious injuries before managing to escape. The scars thankfully faded, but the impression left on the village caught in the middle of it was probably still fresh. And that was with just the man himself causing most of the damage! This time, he had a paladin accompanying him. If they were just as skilled, then he did not want to be forced into a fight now!

Thankfully, the run-in was avoidable thanks to the dense crowd and the two's attention being caught at a nearby stall. This allowed him a chance to briefly glance over the paladin. It revealed little, however. All he could see between the throngs of people was metal armor and a leather sword sheath. At least the person's armor build gave strong indications they were a male. Still, him standing around and admiring some random bauble did nothing to reveal his level of martial training.

Giving up on that, the Dragonborn searched for a place to hide. That was when he saw a nearby store. It was pitch black inside, so he could not see what they sold. He tried to look up at the sign, but it was weathered and in disrepair. It was like the owners cared little about letting the public knew they existed. It was clearly open, however, as a woman left a couple seconds ago. He decided to walk inside, feeling confident both the high elf and paladin would simply pass it by.

His thoughts were proven true. Despite the dark tint from the outside, the inside was well lit. He also had a clear view of the streets, a show that it was a one-way window. It was thanks to that he could see the two pass by without giving the building a glance.

"Nice to know they're predictable," he thought aloud. His eyes never left the two walking by outside. "But why make a store with a one-way tinted window? Seems like bad business practice."

"Only to those of the lawful public," a man suddenly said. His voice was clear and deep. "It's a good way for those who deal in the black market to be discreet."

"I suppose that's true," the Dragonborn replied. He just watched the high elf and paladin continue on their way down the next street corner. "Regular people probably think this is a run-down shop not worth looking into."

The other person let out a whine. "That's it? No yelp of surprise? No visible jumping at a sudden voice speaking up?"

"You're talking to someone who's used to your antics." He then turned around and saw wooden counter where a small but burly figure was leaning against. Even with the room dimly lit, it was clear he was talking to a dwarf. "That and I was expecting something kinda shady to happen."

"You're calling me shady? That's a low blow, even for you!"

The Dragonborn settled on giving a deadpan look. It did not last, however, before his face changed to a smile. "Aren't we both shady, though? A thief and a crooked merchant aren't exactly on-the-level jobs."

The dwarf let out an amused scoff. "Yet jobs like those to be very lucrative. I can't tell you how much I've made conning these villagers." He then said while standing straight and crossing his arms, "But seriously, it's great to see you made it, Markus."

Markus continued to smile as he reached into his coat and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. "As if I'd ignore a letter from you."

* * *

 **Dice Rolls Used In:**

Being addressed by the elf waiter: Perception Check (Fail)

First seeing the High Elf and paladin: Stealth Check (Success)

Observing the paladin in a crowded street: Perception Check (Fail)

Looking for a place to hide: Perception Check (Success)

First hearing the voice in the shop: Perception Check (Natural 20 Success)

* * *

And that's it for this chapter. I don't really have much to say about it; it's really just a means to set up the basic information about the main character. I hope it came out well.

That said, let me mention a couple of things. First off is that there will be no names to the chapters. One reason is that it is a pain for me to continually come up with new chapter names that make sense as to what the chapter is all about. Second and most importantly, details in each chapter will vary based on the dice I use to dictate the flow of the story.

That's right; you read correctly. To stay true to the tabletop Dungeons and Dragons, I will be using dice rolls to dictate certain events. It could be playing a game of chance or the middle of a fight; each roll will dictate how the story will progress. In this case, I truly don't have full control as to where the story will go. As an example, this chapter had two potential branches. One is what you're reading now; the other was that Markus could have had a street fight with the high elf and paladin. Thanks to a good dice roll, he was able to avoid their attention but was hindered in his ability to observe the paladin because of the thick crowd (a low perception roll).

Some of you will think I'm crazy or even lying about me using the dice mechanic. I don't blame you if you do; but let me say that I take creative writing seriously. If I choose to employ a certain gimmick or inflict myself with a handicap, I will follow through with it. That means the usage of the dice is going to be throughout the story. I will, however, list in these notes where I did the dice rolls and their success/failure like I did up above. I'll also try to put in the dice number; I won't for this chapter because I've forgotten about them.

But that's honestly it. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter and story. Please leave a review telling me what you think about it. Until the next update everybody!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everybody! It's been about three months since I've posted this story on here. I know my uploads have been extremely slow lately; those of you who read my note in my previous stories will know that I'm right now taking my master's classes and at the end of the long two-year journey. That means a whole lot of final assignments and, in my case, field experience that doubles up as my master degree/credentialing finals. Yep, its a whole lot of adult life being crammed into a small amount of time. It's amazing that I can even find the time to write a few sentences here and there. That's pretty much how this chapter was created, a few sentences a day from the last three months!

Anyway, let me repeat for those of you who are new or don't remember that this story is completely based on the roll of a dice. Because I wanted to challenge myself and write in a completely unconventional way; I'm embracing the style in which the table top version of Dungeons and Dragons is played. That means all major choices are going to be based on a dice roll whenever applicable. So while I do have the basic groundwork for how the story is going to play out; I have no idea what will happen in terms of how we will get to the end result of each chapter. It will be a bit more apparent as you read through this new chapter. Needless to say, a character can potentially die due to terrible rolls forcing me to write in details I never would have thought of initially.

That said, I will not have the main character, Markus, die even when the dice rolls dictate his health goes down to zero. He is required to complete the entire story. Until the absolute end of the story, the worst he will be is getting knocked unconscious when he loses all health. Everybody else I introduce is fair game to die; Markus is the only exception to that rule for the sake of this story.

And that's pretty much it for now. I'll leave you alone to read this new chapter, one I promise is longer than the last which mainly served as an introduction on things to come. Hope you all enjoy it!

 **And no,** Markus is not meant to be my attempt at inserting myself into the story. I know his name and my pen name are similar, but that's it. The one thing I hate most about stories are those that are either written in the second person or have the author insert their own selves/writing personas into the story. The only time I feel the writer themselves should insert themselves into a piece of writing is in autobiographies, a story where the character is an established person within a given fandom, and stories not tailored to fan fiction. You can call me unreasonable with that; that's just my personal pet peeve about a writer putting their own writing personas into a fan fiction.

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"This is a quaint place to set up shop," Markus said as he glanced about the place. "It's better than the last place where I ran into you. That building was practically one stiff breeze away from falling!" The dwarf simply shrugged as he placed a leather bag on the showcase in front of him and began to unpack.

 **(Perception: 15+2/10)** Thanks to the multiple lamplights around the room, it was easy for him to have a look around. Not that there was much to see, though. The place was structured as how a shop should be, but there were no goods on display. Rows of wooden shelves lined the left wall with only cheap baubles on them. On the right were a few glass showcases. One had a wooden cross post in it that once held a display set of armor. Instead, they were caked in dust; the red felt padding at the inner base faded with time.

However, the showcase the dwarf was laying his items on top of seemed cleaner than the rest. The red felt was still faded, but it seemed tended to as there were minimal traces of dust. In fact, there were still cards in front of what looked to be a few recent depressions where items once sat. How long they have been gone remained to be seen, though. Still, Markus could take a guess at who disturbed the once abandoned showcase.

As for the dwarf himself, it was clear he had been in his fair share of battles. His arms where thick and, as demonstrated by him lifting a few iron balls out of his pack, muscular. His shoulder-length auburn hair, tied in a simple ponytail, brushed against the metallic silver of his armor as he moved. Though unlike most male dwarves, he chose to go without a beard. Even after knowing him for a while, Markus still found it an odd sight.

Another unusual thing was that the dwarf was rather short even by dwarven standards. At barely over four feet tall, he was only a head taller than the surface of the glass showcase. It was obvious the store was originally not tailored towards dwarven needs. Despite the issue, he unpacked his belongings along the surface with practiced ease. He was aware of the space around him and knew a few tricks to get around his height issue when it arose.

"Still up to your old charlatan tricks with those fake goods, Skor?" he asked. Despite the accusation that could be in the words; his tone was simply humorous. "I guess you've been here for a while now."

Skor chuckled as he began to sort through his belongings. "Long enough to make some good coin off the locals. I wish you were here a couple days, though. I was pretending to be a traveling merchant with some wares I had to offload. Used my charm to make them believe the things I had were amazing items. The 'anti-aging cream' and 'bottle of lust' were one of my best sells!" he stated proudly as he pointed a finger atop the glass. "Just set it as a highlighted item and let their money do the talking. It's amazing how they can be so gullible!"

 **(Perception: Crit. Fail)** Markus smirked as he read the cards. "Anything that has to do with youth or libido are always easy to scam. Was the woman I passed coming in one of your suckers?"

The dwarf raised an eyebrow. "Did she look like one to you? Seriously, how did you not manage to get a good look? Lots of things about her screamed experienced adventurer. It was painfully obvious! Or were you blinded by her beauty? Last I heard, you still haven't had any fun yet," he added with a teasing wink.

The Dragonborn scowled, but the blushing revealed his embarrassment. "Like that's any of your business! And besides, I was trying to get out of the streets at the time. What she looked like was the last thing on my mind!"

"Excuses, excuses. You should've been more attentive. Comes with being a thief for a living, don't it?"

"Anyway," Skor continued as he ignored Markus' glare," she's one of my regulars who happened to be passing through. I guess she caught wind of me being in town. She hasn't given me a reason to not trust her yet, so I hook her up with the good stuff."

"Which good stuff?" Markus asked. He had since walked over to the wooden shelves and was examining the baubles. He then picked up a small spherical glass ball and rolled it in his fingers. "You consider the fake goods and forgeries you make to be top-of-the-line stuff, too."

The dwarf gave him a pointed look before returning his concentration to his belongings. "I respect her enough to showcase my actual wares. It also helps that she sometimes does side jobs that net me rare goods. I suppose you could call it a profitable trade. And you know me," he added as he flashed a big smile. "I'm not that big of a prick to stiff someone I'm on friendly footing with. I'm a charlatan with standards, after all!"

"But enough about me! How've you been doing, Markus? It's been a bit since we last ran into each other."

"Well enough to survive, I guess. I got legally robbed by a High Elf running a restaurant, though," Markus recalled with a frown. "The food he served was hardly worth the two gold coins he charged!"

Skor laughed. "Yeah, I know who you're talking about. That guy's known to be a price gouger. Not surprising since he used to be a conman before opening up that place. He might be in a different job, but he's still a thief at heart. Only newcomers would be gullible enough to give him their business."

The Dragonborn let out a low growl. "Okay, that's enough with the subtle insults. How about we talk about what you're doing? You've been messing around with your things for a while now."

"I'm just taking stock of what I have left on me. Oh, and I also have this for you," the dwarf said as he picked up a piece of rolled parchment tied with red string. He then said as he held it out to Markus, "Kinda forgot about it, to be honest. I was having too much fun milking these people of their gold!"

Markus shook his head in amusement as he accepted the parchment. "Only you would be so into the charlatan act. But yeah, who is this from?"

"From one of my contacts. He's the only one I got right now looking into matters other than rare goods. I have a feeling you'll find what's on there to be interesting. You can thank me later for making this happen."

"Mustn't be worth much if you're letting me touch it," Markus teased as he abandoned the bauble. Skor was mostly unaffected by the jab since he returned to viewing his items after passing off the letter. The Dragonborn undid the string and carefully unrolled it.

"No need to be gingerly with it. Not like it's on the verge of falling apart."

 **(Investigation: Natural 20)** Markus ignored the other's jab as he spent the next couple minutes reading the contents. He then said after putting the letter down, "This is old news, Skor. I already know Xantyr's here."

The dwarf laughed, thinking it was a joke. Being continually stared at without signs of humor, however, sobered him up quickly. "Wait, are you serious? How could you know about that High Elf being here before me? I just figured it out today!"

"That was through some nightmarish luck. I caught sight of him in the market a few minutes ago. That's why I ended up in here; it was to keep out of sight from him and his pet Paladin."

"He's actually in the outside world? Odd; he's usually holed up in whatever inn he's staying at. And you said there's someone with him? My contact didn't mention that the last time we connected."

"I guess it's his guard or something. Makes sense why he's out, if that's the case. But if that's true, then why does he even have one?" Markus wondered with a frown. "He's always been too cheap to hire one!"

Skor crossed his arms in thought. "Might've been a courtesy gift from his client. It'd make sense if someone wants to make sure his goods stay secured."

"Yeah, I remember reading something about him finding a potential buyer. It hasn't been confirmed, but there's no other reason why he'd suddenly have someone tagging along. Either that or the buyer wants to make sure Xantyr doesn't pull a fast one. Still," he added as he rubbed the side of his head, "I can't help feeling there's more to this letter."

"What do you mean?"

"The way it's written is kinda bothering me," he explained as he turned the letter so the dwarf could see. "Do you know if this person has an unsteady hand?"

"I'm not sure; we've never personally met. A matter of safety on both our ends. His penmanship has always been pretty clear, though," Skor noted without paying much attention to the letter. "Why're you asking?"

Markus sighed. "You would know if you actually looked at it! His writing's sloppy. It's like he was in a rush or something."

"That's not too unusual. A lot of my contacts have sloppy handwriting." Skor continued after taking a few seconds to take a good look, "Though I do see what you're getting at. This doesn't look anything like how Garrett normally writes. He's always pretty neat."

"That's his name?" The dwarf nodded. "How do you know it's him? It's not signed. Or is keeping letters anonymous also a part of your general safety?"

"No, he makes it a point to sign his name. As to how I figured he was the one who sent it, he's the only one I have right now doing any kind of work for me. But you're right, Markus," Skor admitted with a frown. "There's something wrong. He doesn't normally write unsteadily or send it without his signature. I know for sure it's by his hand, though."

"Do you think Xantyr caught him snooping and had one of his goons catch him?" Markus wondered.

The dwarf had gone back to tinkering with his belongs. However, it seemed more like he was using it as a means to distract himself. He then said after a few seconds, "It's possible. A better idea than him being forced to write this letter, anyway. It doesn't mention anything that's in immediate need of your attention. Not like it would've mattered. The red string it was tied with was code that I had to personally hand his letter to you."

"So if he was caught, your contact was still able to counter whatever alterations are on it. Still," Markus continued with a heavy sigh, "there's a chance it means me being here might not be as unexpected as I first thought."

"And that will make things much harder for you. You sure you want to stick with your original plan? I know you've spent a while tailing him," the dwarf reminded as he finally began to put the items back into his bag. "Hell, you'd be owing me your life with the amount of favors I pulled for you!"

"True, but I haven't heard you complain about it. Don't start griping now about wanting to collect. Besides, isn't it a part of being friends to do favors for each other?" Skor rolled his eyes to which Markus gave an amused chuckle.

"And yes," he continued after regaining his composure, "I'm sticking with my original plan. It's hard enough just to stay on Xantyr's trail; I've had less than a handful of times where we were in the same place! I never confronted him then simply because I wasn't ready. I mean, it's pretty much suicide to go against him without backup and being poorly equipped. Things are different this time around, though."

The dwarf snorted as he crossed his arms. "I'm guessing you're talking about your things you asked me to hold onto for emergencies?"

"Provided you still have them with you."

"I left them at my safe house the next town over. That doesn't take care of your backup problem, though."

For the first time during their talk, Markus hesitated in answering. "Well, I was thinking you could help me out with this."

Skor kept quiet at this. Instead, he kept his arms crossed and stared daggers at Markus. This lasted for a little bit, long enough for the Dragonborn to start feeling like he should not have mentioned it.

It took another few seconds of being unblinkingly stared at before he asked, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Because my silence speaks volumes. What makes you think I'll risk my neck to help you in this fool's endeavor? We may be friends, but I'm not stupid enough to take on Xantyr with only a two-man group," Skor definitively replied. "Last I checked, that's called going on a suicide mission."

"I'm not saying we should take him on!" Markus quickly said. "I just need help taking back what he stole from me. Even I'm not that big of an idiot to get into a fight. I'm a fragile guy compared to him."

"You're just fragile period, Markus. Remember that time you tried to fight a simple city guard and ended up getting knocked upside the head by his lance? The guy didn't even put that much effort into his attack!"

The Dragonborn slapped his forehead in embarrassment. "Of all the jobs you could've been with me on, it had to be the one where things went wrong. I keep telling you that incident was a one-time thing! I didn't even get a chance to be stealthy about it."

"True, but it was also my first time doing field work with you. It left a bad impression," Skor said with an impish grin.

"Okay, that's enough about that! I'm just asking to see whether or not you're gonna help me out."

 **(Persuasion: 7+2/Natural 20)** "And the answer's no," the dwarf quickly said. All the while, he kept his impish grin. "I'd be crazy to stick my neck out for you any longer than I already have."

"You're kidding me!" Markus exclaimed. "You hardly did anything dangerous! The most you did was exchange covert messages with your contact."

The impish grin finally left Skor's face. "You really think that was safe work? Keeping in contact with my contacts is more dangerous than you think." He then asked as he started to clear out the things inside the showcase, "Who's the one who'll potentially be exposed if they were compromised? What do you think can happen now that Garrett might be in enemy hands? I'm not gonna stick around to find out, that's for sure!"

"So you just invited me to this place so we could discuss Xantyr being here before you hightail it away? Some friend you are!" the Dragonborn angrily grumbled.

"Hey, I did more for you than I would've done for anybody else because I consider you a friend. If it were anybody else, I'd be charging an arm and a leg for the amount of things you had me do! Risking my life is not on the list of special benefits," Skor explained as he began to shuffle what he just laid out into his bag.

 **(Persuasion: 8+2/6+2)** "But I'm hardly fighting material!" Markus argued in an attempt to earn some aid from the dwarf. "You know I work best in the shadows; I'm bad with direct fights. You could at least give me something helpful before running away!"

Surprisingly enough, Skor paused in his packing and looked up at the other. He seemed to want to continue arguing against providing more help. He heaved a heavy sigh instead before snaking a hand into his bag. What he pulled out a second later was a small brown pouch, its contents sounding like glass as it lightly moved about.

"Here's something to stop you whining at me," the dwarf said as Markus took the offered pouch. "There are two potions in there. And yes, they are legit," he quickly added upon seeing Markus's dubious glance. "The orange one is a stimulant that makes you feel stronger for a short time. The blue one is more of an adrenaline boost; you'll get some extra energy to keep on going even if you're really hurting. Your body might hate you later, but it's better than lying dead in enemy territory."

"So they're basically strength and endurance potions," the Dragonborn surmised as he peered into the pouch. Sure enough, there were two small bottles of the mentioned colored liquids inside. "How long do they last?"

"A few minutes at best. They're from my home brew stock, so they don't last as long as the market brand. I guarantee you, though, that they're much stronger."

Markus's dubiousness quickly returned. "Home brewed? These are your knock-offs of the original? I don't want to be experimenting with your potions right when I need them. What if they don't work as advertised?" he argued as he gave one of the bottles a tentative shake. "But even if I didn't have a problem with that, how can you be sure yours are better than the market versions?"

"I make those for black market retail. They've been verified by a potions maker who specializes with experimental brewing. I can promise you they work better than what you're used to. It should be all the help you need."

"And that's all you can do? Come on, man; help me out here!" Markus did not care if it sounded like he was begging. He had waited so long to catch up to Xantyr, and he was not about to let this chance go to waste. That did not mean, however, he was crazy enough to confront him with close to nothing as support. If Skor refused to fight by his side, then he was going to try milking as much stuff out of him as possible.

 **(Persuasion: 4+2/19+2)** "Look, you're gonna have to figure out the rest on your own," Skor said as he packed up the last of his belongings. "I already gave you a couple of good freebies from my wares. Even as friends, you should consider yourself lucky to be getting free goods. Don't think you can try milking more stuff out of me. Still, I'm sure you'll get through facing Xantyr alright if you go about it smart.

"Of course, that's if you can find a way to get to him," he added while tightening his bag with a drawstring. He then bent down and got a rope which he tied around the drawstring as a manual double-locking process before throwing it over his shoulder. Afterwards, he made his way around the showcase and stood face to face with Markus for the first time. "From what you said, he has a Paladin with him. Rookies or not, they are pretty formidable people to go up against."

"Which is why I asked you for your help. If that Paladin was hired by whoever Xantyr's planning to meet, I can only imagine how many other people they might have. I can't do this on my own! I don't think even your boot-legged potions will be of much help." Markus let out a frustrated sigh as he begrudgingly put the potions into his hip satchel.

"Call them what you will, but I promise they'll save your life one of these days. You just need to make sure to use them at the right time. Now if you'll excuse me," Skor said in a teasing posh accent as he headed towards the door. The bag over his shoulder stayed firm against his back supposedly because of its weight. "It's time for me to open shop in another town. Hope it all goes well for you here!"

"Come on; you can't just leave me with that!" The dwarf's only response was to open the door and let some of the outside noise in. He cast a glance back and flashed Markus a grin before going into the streets and shutting the door behind him. Markus simply stood there and gave a death glare at empty space. It was a couple seconds before he angrily grumbled, "He actually left. Now how am I supposed to do this?"

* * *

And that's this chapter for you in a nutshell. It was pretty interesting to make everything work since I'm constantly busy and working hard to fit in a couple sentences a day. It's crazy, but even those couple sentences are a great way for me to get away from the craziness that has become my life these past two or so years.

Anyway, let me quickly address what I'm doing new here as opposed to the first chapter. It's also a bit of setting the groundwork for the rules I'm setting on myself for making this story. Just thought I'd let you know so it'd be easier to keep up with how I'm writing this story and why I'm doing certain things.

I'm sure you noticed all the bold types such as **(Persuasion: 1/1)** posted throughout the chapter. In short, they are the description of what the roll is based on and the results of all participating parties or relevant objects. The left number will always be Markus; the right is always the challenger or difficulty of performing an action on an inanimate object. The added numbers are each character's respective modifier points to the proper check.

With people, the challengers will also have a dice roll to try and counter my attempts. With objects, they will always be set at the default of 10. The exception is if I decide to, for example, check an otherwise suspicious spot. Depending on the success or failure of the default 10 check; the difficulty can either be risen or lowered by 5. So say I noticed a wall possibly being host to a fake door. If I failed the initial Perception check of default 10, the difficulty in trying to open it will now be default 15. Conversely, it will be default 5 if I pass the initial check. Hopefully, that should take care of any confusion as to why the inanimate object checks are always set at 10.

Also, I will not bother posting the opposition's result if Markus's roll is either a Natural 20 or a Crit. Fail (a 1). It becomes so obvious that I passed/failed; the opponent's result does not matter. The only exception to that is if we both managed a Natural 20 or a Crit. Fail. The Natural 20 I will roll again and thus have two results posted simultaneously. With the Crit. Fail, it will be a penalty of some kind on both ends with neither side being given a re-roll.

I also went the extra step and created a character sheet for all characters currently introduced. That includes Markus, Skor, Xantyr, and the unnamed Paladin character. Since I've already used so much space on here, I will instead post all of Markus's stats in the next update. Of course, that's provided I even remember to do that if it takes another three months to be posted. Until then, I hope you continue to be patient and enjoy this new chapter!

 **And as an extra thing** ; there were two chances I thought of in which Skor could have been recruited at this point. The first was when Skor managed to roll a Natural 20 against me and just flat-out said no. The second was when he first gave Markus the two potions. If he was successfully persuaded three times, Skor would then just give in and join Markus. Otherwise, he will stick to his guns and leave. At least the roll was nice enough in that I could write in a couple of helpful items. But boy, I can see the inevitable encounter with Xantyr being an interesting chapter to write.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everybody! Welcome to a new chapter to my Dungeons and Dragons story. Boy, this is sure a crazy trip just to get this chapter off the ground. With so many things happening in terms of credible dice rolls; I can say that a lot of my original story progression ideas were thrown out the window thanks to getting a bunch of bad rolls. Oh well, we work with what we have.

That said, I think there are well over 20 different dice rolls in this particular chapter. I'm pretty sure I'm wrong on that count, but I don't know if it's more or less than what I stated. Regardless, there is no doubt a lot of rolls happening. I would expect a lot to also be in the next chapter. And one has to wonder why I'm subjecting myself to writing a story based all on the roll of the dice?

While it may seem like a cheap gimmick I'm employing, I promise that it does play a role in the overall story. Whenever possible, I always try to implement my techniques and story mechanics in a way that it becomes a part of the story itself. I can't say too much more than that as I would be giving away the plot; those of you smart enough to read between the lines might already have an idea as to what I'm planning with the dice mechanic. All I can say is that it will be a while before it all becomes clear.

With that said, I hope you all enjoy this new chapter! As a means to keep track of items gained and lost, I will post at the beginning and end a basic list of what Markus obtains during this journey. Not only is it a way for you guys to keep track of what he has; it'll allow me to remember what he currently has with him and what I can use in certain situations. Some of the items are also not found anywhere in the D&D lore; it's just something I made up for the heck of it. That said, enjoy!

One last thing, though; I will introduce a new abbreviation noted as **ST**. That simply stands for Saving Throw. From what I understand, it is a number added to a character's roll when either trying to recover from a status ailment or conducting a particular action in which you have been disabled somewhat. I know for sure it is to help dodge magic attacks; for the previously mentioned two, I will play around with that system as I see fit. Basically, **ST** will stand for the Saving Throw number of each character.

 **Inventory:**

Dagger x2 (1d4 + [Dex. + prof. bonus] attack each)

Short Bow with 20x arrows (1d6 + [Dex. + prof. bonus] attack)

Skor's Strength Potion (2d4 bonus to each attack roll; must pass a d20 x/15 roll prior to made attacks to maintain bonus)

Skor's Endurance Potion (2d4 recovery and increase to Max HP, must pass a d20 x/15 roll prior to made attacks to maintain new Max HP limit)

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Markus stayed in the abandoned shop until late that evening when he decided it was time to make his move. He had done his best to plan things out, but there was no denying how rushed it all was. Things were bound to go wrong; it would be a miracle if the job went even remotely clean. Still, he least he had some semblance of a backup plan to work with.

Of course, he was not happy that Skor just left him to take care of Xantyr on his own. As friends, he had hoped the Dwarf would be with him, blades at the ready, to reclaim what was taken from him. Then again, he should have expected things to go the way they did. Despite his naturally strong dwarven build, Skor's skills laid in his ability to sell practically anything to anybody at any price. For him, fighting was more of a last resort option. However, he was a definite force to be reckoned with when crossed.

At least he was kind enough to leave Markus with a couple items he could use during his newly-classified suicide job. Being the shrewd businessman he was, he almost never willingly parted with his goods unless coin was involved. The only exception was when he was dealing with friends, but even then it was like pulling teeth just to get him make a small charitable act. In that respect, he learned to take Skor's offerings for the rare gifts they were.

He was also left with the letter sent to Skor by his confidant. Even though it had been meant for him this whole time; it was great that he left Markus with some leads. With Xantyr meeting a potential buyer during the midnight hours, it meant the process was to be as low-key as possible. Why else would someone schedule a meeting so late?

 **(Investigation Check: Natural 20)** From what he gathered from the drunkards calling it a night, there was a group of people gathered at a large house in the outskirts of town. While usually meant for town meetings and celebrations, they sometimes rented it out for extra money. As luck would have it, someone matching the High Elf's description was seen heading there earlier in the evening. **(Natural 20 Bonus)** They even let slip that the town guards were given clear instructions to not approach the grounds for whatever reason until the gathering was over. For Markus, that meant one less thing to worry about during his escape.

And this was where he found himself at, along the outskirts of the house in question. He made sure to hide within the shadows of the trees due to the full moon's celestial light making the road illuminated. Thankfully, his position granted him a good view of the grounds and any threats that may be lying in wait.

 **(Perception Check: 2+3/10)** "How am I gonna do this?" he grumbled as he could only see one guard so far standing by a torch at the front door. He assumed there were more outside, but it was hard to tell due to them most likely donning extremely dark armor as the one by the door. With the cover of the trees only extending halfway up the walkway, he dared to chance getting closer and ruining his advantage.

 **(Perception Check: 13+3/5)** However, Markus noticed the guard tossing something between his hands in an absentminded fashion. His shield and spear were leaning neatly against the wall, ready to be picked up at a moment's notice. Despite that, he was more into whatever was in his hands and not paying attention to the path.

"I could take him by surprise," he wondered aloud after a few more seconds of watching. After giving the area a final once-over, he decided it was worth trying.

 **(Stealth Check: 19+4/4)** As assumed, the guard did not notice Markus slowly creeping up to him. Even with his front facing the path, the Dragonborn had no issue sidling up to the wall just a few feet away. One wrong move and he would be exposed in a heartbeat, but the guard merely continued to play with what was now known to be a pebble. He could even be heard counting under his breath; that was how close Markus was!

He took advantage of this moment to try and figure out his next move. As much as he wanted to sneak in through the door, he could not risk it without first scoping out the inside. Of course, that would be hard to do with even a distracted guard a few feet away. If things went south then, he would easily be surrounded in a heartbeat.

No, the best thing in this situation was to knock the guy out. If he did that, then he could take the Studded Leather Armor as his own and pretend to be one of the guards. That would negate the need to perform any risky stealth maneuvers. There was also a helmet in which he could hide his Draconic heritage in case this was a group that did not hire such people. The only thing he needed to make sure was not to mess up. Otherwise, it would call for some rapid-fire improvisation to hopefully get out of it in one piece.

 **(Strength Check: 12/7+2+ST 2)** As swiftly and quietly as he could, Markus jumped on the guard's back and wrapped an arm around his neck. The guard immediately dropped his stone and placed both hands on the offending appendage. He also tried to scream for help, but he could only manage wheezes of pain thanks to his windpipe being crushed. It was amazing how the guard was failing at this despite him clearly being more muscular.

What almost caught Markus off-guard was the sudden jerk backwards where the wall was. Had he not been paying attention, he might have loosened his grip upon impact. Instead, the Dragonborn managed to plant his feet against the bricks and stop the guard's momentum. He then pushed them away from it and down to the dirt where they landed with a soft thud, a cloud of dirt rising and choking Markus in the process. Still, he continued with his assault as he did not want to lose his newly gained advantage of being on top.

Despite this, the guard continued to flail about like a netted animal. Were this any other situation, Markus would have been surprised at how long he was lasting. Instead, he found it annoying and was contemplating whether or not to just smash the guard's face in to save time. He did not have all the time in the world to deal with this guy, after all!

Thankfully, the struggle began to calm down. The death grip on his arm loosened until they fell silently onto the dirt. His legs, which were helplessly kicking against the ground, stopped trying to buck Markus off him. His breath, having since been coming out as sickly wheezes, gave out one last choking attempt at a gasp before going silent. That was when Markus finally let go, and he was rewarded with a now immobile guard. Though just to make sure, he placed a finger on the guard's neck to check if he was dead or alive.

"Geez, this guy's a tough one," he grumbled after a couple seconds. "At least he'll be out for a while. I better take his armor and hide him somewhere before I get caught!"

Thankfully, that ended up being an easy task. All he needed to do was untie the straps along the guard's ribcage that joined the front and back portions of the armor. Afterwards, he rolled the guard onto his side so as to slip the armor over his arms. It was the only way to get it off as the shoulders were bonded together with a combination of leather straps and metal studs. It was easy, though, and he soon found himself wearing it as his own.

Now came the task of hiding the body to keep the other guards from figuring something was wrong. Granted they would soon realize it once they see the door guard missing. Still, it was better they be kept guessing for a while instead of figuring things out right at the get-go.

 **(Strength Check: 18/10)** Not wanting to waste any time, he decided to just drag the body to the trees he hid under earlier. Even though it provided little cover against passersby going to the house; at least people from the house would have a hard time noticing anything. Then again, the people renting the place specifically forbade any outsiders from approaching. In that respect, Xantyr's buyer was helping to make sneaking around easier.

With the body out of the full moon's light and, hopefully, away from general view; Markus calmly made his way back to the front doors. Before entering, however, his eyes caught sight of the Lance and metal Shield leaning against the wall.

 _Why'd he have both?_ he wondered as he went over and picked up the Shield. _It takes two hands to use a_ _Lance_ _just to keep it stable for attacking. The only exception is when one's on a horse, but the momentum compensates for that. He'd have to be pretty strong to pull off this kind of combo! He couldn't be, though; he was hardly a walking bag of muscles._

Not wanting to waste more time thinking on it, Markus put the Shield over his right arm. He gave it a couple test swings to make sure it was secure. Being he was not used to using them, it felt cumbersome. That and it had to be on his weaker arm so he could fight with his dominant side. Still, it at least meant he had one more piece of protection to use. If push came to shove, he could also smack someone upside the head with it.

"Evening, Hayden," a woman suddenly greeted.

Markus jumped in surprise before turning around. To his horror, someone had managed to come up without him noticing. What made it worse was that this woman was wearing the same colored armor as the guard he took out. That meant he did not see all the guards that were stationed outside. Since she had her helmet on, he had no way to knowing what race she was; Dwarf or Halfling was out of the picture, though, since she was about his height.

 **(Deception Check: Dis. Crit. Fail)** He tried to respond back, but all he managed to do was make a fool of himself. His voice failed to work because he was so startled; he was like a caught fish trying to loosen the hook on his lips. His left arm awkwardly waving hello at the newcomer did not help matters either.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked, the confusion clear in her tone. "You're acting kinda strange."

 **(Crit. Fail Penalty)** "I'm fine!" Markus finally let out. Unfortunately, it came out in a high-pitched squeak. He then cleared his throat before repeating in a still somewhat squeaky manner, "I'm fine. You just startled me, is all!"

One could practically feel the disbelief in the woman's tone. "And since when have you ever been startled by anything? You didn't even flinch when the boss jumped in front of you one time demanding to know what you did to the pack."

 **(Deception Check: 2+6/3+4)** "Only because I expected that to happen!" he quickly bluffed. Thankfully, he had recovered enough to gain back his voice. Still, he hoped his vocal tone was not too different than that of the guard he was posing as. "You think I was expecting you to just sneak up on me? You probably would've reacted the same way!"

"Probably not, but I suppose that's fair." The suspicious underlying tone in her voice lost its edge. However, it was clear she still found the situation hard to believe. "How can a tough guy like you get scared to the point of jumping, though? Kind of like a pampered girl thing to do, if you ask me."

"Because I was thinking about something. When you're lost in thought, anything can give you a bad scare, you know?"

"So you say, but I think you're just fishing around for an excuse. But whatever," the woman said with a sigh. At least for the time being, she seemed ready to accept things as they were. "I only came by to ask if you noticed anything strange tonight."

 **(Deception Check: 3+6/8+4)** "No, not a thing!" Markus exclaimed a little too quickly.

That was clearly not the response she was looking for. "Okay, what's going on? You're not acting like yourself. What gives?"

At this point, he felt it best to just stay quiet. He was already treading on thin ice with the woman thanks to a couple slips of the tongue. It was amazing that he was able to recover from them as well as he did. Unfortunately, he got the feeling this was one slip too many.

"You're not Hayden, are you?" she suddenly asked as she leaned in. She soon was close enough to the point he could actually hear her sniffing. Yep, it was definitely one mistake too much! "Who are you, and what did you do with him?"

"I-I am Hayden!" Markus automatically exclaimed. "You think I'd let some random guy get the drop on me?" It was out of reflex for him to keep up disguises even in the face of danger. Still, that did not mean he had plans to get out of such sticky situations. This was one of those moments.

"You may sound like him, but your behavior's way too different. No, I'm positive you're an imposter!"

 **(Strength Check: 19/7+2+ST 2)** Before she knew it, Markus' fist smashed into her face. Even though it was protected by her helmet, the noise from the impact was enough to startle her. He then took advantage of it and got behind her before wrapping an arm around her neck. Her windpipe effectively crushed, thus cutting off any exclamations she made from the earlier strike. She struggled with everything she had to shake the Dragonborn off. Wildly thrashing about did little to help her situation, though.

 **(Strength Check: 15/10+2+ST 2)** As a last-ditch effort, she managed to snake a hand to her waist and pull out a dagger. Markus, however, gripped it with his free hand and kept it pinned in its sheath. He also effectively kept that arm locked from doing anything, so now all he had to do was wait until she fell unconscious. That happened only a few seconds later as her thrashing grew weak and her legs began to give way. A little after that, she stopped moving completely as her free arm fell limply to her side.

"Thank god that's over!" Markus groaned as he loosened his grip. The woman fell to the floor in an unceremonious heap as a result. "I can't believe she managed to sneak up on me! Now I have to take care of her, too, before someone sees her. This's turning out to be a really bad start!"

 **(Perception Check: Natural 20)** After checking to make sure the coast was clear, he began to drag the unconscious woman down the road towards the tree where he left the other guard. It was the only place he could think of to dispose of her, though he did not want to imagine how bad things will be when one woke up to find the other lying with them. In any other circumstance, it would be a funny thought. Right now, however, it meant more chances to be discovered.

Just as Markus settled the woman's body underneath the tree, he noticed something was affixed to her armor. He took it off and noticed it was a medal of some kind. Engraved on it was a figure of a wolf's head looking back at him with blood red rubies set in the eyes. That was the only thing on it, though; nothing else was engraved on the back.

 _Probably a sign that represents the people she works for,_ he thought as he pocketed the medal away. _I'm willing to bet that guy also has one on him. Wish I knew more about the local crime lords and their symbols, but I'm not really into that circle. Maybe I'll ask Skor about it if I run into him again._

 **(Natural 20 Bonus)** Feeling extremely confident there was nobody else around to get the drop on him; Markus quickly made his way back to the front door. He made sure to seem casual, however, in case someone happened to look out a window at him. The last thing he needed was to be caught again. Thankfully, he had no more run-ins with the guards.

Now back at the front door, he took a couple moments to compose himself. After the craziness he had to endure in the past few minutes, he could only imagine how things will be inside. So long as he did not blow his cover, he should be alright. Then again, he did panic like a rookie earlier and almost got himself exposed. In light of that, it was fair to say it would be a toss-up inside as to whether or not things will take off without any further hitches.

* * *

 **New Inventory:**

Leather Armor (AC 11 + Dex.)

Shield (AC +2)

Wolf's Medal (Engraved with a wolf's head and set with two blood rubies in the eyes)

You can call me completely extra with all this if you want, but nothing keeps me wanting to write than continually challenging myself with otherwise difficult writing prompts. Making a story based almost entirely on the roll of the dice is a pretty stupid story prompt idea, but I found it to always be stretching my imagination and forcing me to write in scenarios that I'm sure I would not have done so otherwise.

That said, I'm done writing now. It's almost one in the morning for me, and I'm tired of spending time typing out an intro and outro author's note. So I hope you enjoyed this new chapter and the admitted cluster-bomb it became thanks to a bunch of dice rolls that made the story seem more random that it should have been.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everybody! It has been a while since I last updated this story. Good reason for that is because my masters classes decided to go nuts and hand me a whole bunch of work that needed to be done ASAP. I don't think I need to say more than that; those assignments became more important as I wanted to get my degree as soon as possible.

Long story short, I've finally finished with most everything. The only thing I need to wait on now is for my college to get all the paperwork done. As the masters class also doubles up as a skill class for the job I plan to apply for; my home state requires that I apply for my credentials and pass their ever-so-lovely tests. So now here I am waiting for those results and having nothing better to do than to write stories.

Which brings me to this particular story that I wanted to continue working on. It is a project that I really do love working on, and the whole experimentation thing with the dice really makes things become so much more interesting. It also forces me to write scenarios that I would not usually consider writing; it really stretches my brain to come up with multiple scenarios for one particular part.

However, I've noticed that there are a lot of different dice rolls happening outside of Markus's. It is too much to do, and it is pretty much redundant in the scope of things. However, I have noticed that there isn't a need to write down those particular dice rolls. In fact, I realized that if none of the rolls are directly going against Markus or his friends; there's no need to make it known. The reason behind that is because it is outside of their field of vision and knowledge. The rolls are still happening, but the results are invisible with only the end result known in terms of how the story will play out.

Anyway, that's all I'll have to say at this point. It's been nothing but a rambling mess at this point. I hope you all end up enjoying this new chapter as much as I had making it!

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

Upon entering the large house, Markus immediately noticed the lack of security. Unlike the trouble he ran into at the front door, the main foyer was only occupied with basic furniture. An ornate chandelier hung above him, a flame lit within a small crystal dome in its center with the light bouncing off smaller dangling crystals. This allowed him to see all around the room with relative ease.

Along the simple wooden walls hung paintings of various sizes. Most merely showed renderings of local and foreign landscapes, all of which were kept in simple wooden frames. On them were metal placards that probably explained what was being shown. He thought them nice but otherwise nothing to be amazed over.

However, there was one large painting that did catch his eye. In fact, it was more of a portrait. There were three people in it dressed in fine clothes, the image held by an ornate gold frame with a sapphire embedded in each corner. The setting was clearly the foyer of this house, so he assumed they might have been or are the current owners.

 **(Investigation Check: 10+3/10)** The man was clearly athletic, his muscles showing slightly underneath his clothes. Even the bit of neck that peeked over the fur around it was indicative of muscle definition. His shoulder-length black hair was kept in a ponytail, and his neatly trimmed beard with flecks of gray in it. He had a hand on a woman's shoulder, her dressed in a simple yet elegant green summer dress. She also had black hair, but it was cut short like a man. The third person was a boy, possibly the two's son as he looked like the man. He had on refined clothes with a red cravat on his neck. On one of his fingers rested a gold ring embedded with an unidentifiable stone.

"Why do rich people always have paintings of themselves? Not like we can't already tell by where they live and the way they dress," Markus grumbled as his eyes wandered downward. That was when he noticed a tarnished gold placard that had the subject matter stenciled in. "So they're the Volk family. Boris, Natalya, and Gregor. With names like that, the parents must've been foreign settlers. I wonder how old it is, though; it seems to be fading a bit.

 **(Perception Check: 11/5+3)** He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a couple people approaching. Taking a moment to listen, he realized they were on the other side of the wall. Their chatter steadily grew louder, indicating they were coming closer.

Realizing they could be coming into the foyer; Markus turned around and headed for the door on the other side of the room. It was thankfully unlocked, so he slunk on in and quietly shut it behind him. Unfortunately, that did not do a lot of good as he soon realized the room he tried to hide in was actually the closet. It was too late to change his mind as he heard a door open, the voices now clear enough to hear.

"It shouldn't be," he heard one of them say. "The boss said we'll be leaving first thing in the morning."

"Is that before or after he closes the deal?" the other asked. "I don't even know why he's dealing with that Elf. He's too much of an entitled ass!"

"Only to us grunts. He sings a completely different tune when talking to the boss. Guess that tells how used to being in power the guy is."

"More like used to be rich and entitled." There was then a couple seconds of silence. "What is it?"

"Don't you notice that smell?" the first one said after a couple of loud sniffs.

The second scoffed. "How can you not? That Elf has some kind of obsession with using scented oils. Doesn't help they're strong as heck, either. I swear; he's doing it on purpose to mess with us!"

"No, there's definitely something else I'm catching. I think its Hayden."

"Well, this is next to the front door. Don't forget Hayden's on door duty tonight. It may be his scent wafting in. That's also not mentioning he hasn't washed in a couple days. It's not all that weird to be smelling him."

"I suppose." There was no denying the skepticism in the first one's tone. "Still, I can't help feeling there's something mixed with it."

"Like what?" the second asked.

 **(History Check: 6+1/5)** As the man continued to repeatedly make sniffing sounds; Markus realized something. The armor of the man he knocked out did not have any discernable smell to it. Even for someone who allegedly went without a bath for two days, nothing seemed to rub off onto the leather. Then there was the fact one of them said the oils Xantyr had on were very strong. As far as he could tell, he never noticed the Elf having worn any scented oils. Then again, he never was in a position to smell it.

Now there was them alleging they could smell something beyond the supposedly strong scented oils. Generally, scents caught by a regular nose would be covered up by something of stronger strength. While he could not be certain, he felt comfortable thinking he was listening to the words from some kind of shapeshifter. If that was true, this meant things could go bad real quickly if he were to be caught.

"…I don't know," the first person finally said after a long pause. "The oils are really messing with my nose. I could just be smelling the guy we caught snooping around earlier. The boss did keep them here for a while before taking him to the basement."

"That's probably it. I commend that guy for taking guard duty down there. I don't want to be anywhere near that Halfling," the other said in disgust. "He reeks too much of nasty herb mixtures. Sucks to have such a sensitive nose. Funny, though, how he's more fragile than that skinny Human. Just one hit and he was out!"

"At least it kept you on your toes. Still can't believe he managed to land a sucker-punch on you.

"Anyway, let's go to the kitchen. Don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Best idea I've heard all night!" the second happily replied. Their footsteps sounded again, this time growing fainter as they crossed the foyer. Markus then heard a door opening and the two's steps continually growing fainter until they were gone.

 **(Stealth Check: 8+4/20)** Still paranoid, he slowly opened the closet door and peered out. However, he accidentally knocked his shield on the doorknob. It was not too loud, the sound barely managing an echo in the quiet foyer. Still, he knew he was dealing with at least a couple of shapeshifters; they could easily hear him if their animal side also allowed them enhanced hearing. Last thing he wanted was to have a pack of shifted beasts tearing him up like some wild game.

He stayed still for a couple seconds, his ears trying to pick up any sound of movement. Even when a reasonable amount of time passed, he continued to listen. It was only when his back started to ache because of the position he froze in did he decide to finally come out of the closet.

 _Damn, that was close,_ he thought as he repressed a heavy sigh. _Just my luck I now have to deal with shapeshifters. I hope they aren't werewolves or I'll be royally screwed! I'm so not prepared to take them on!_

 _At least it wasn't a waste of time. Xantyr is meeting his buyer right now, and they're not leaving until morning. That'll give me some time to work with._

 _And then there's the two people trapped in the basement,_ he continued while making his way to the door left open by the two guards. _Chances are one of them is Skor's contact. If I save him, Skor will owe me another favor. Of course, that's only if I can find him without getting myself killed. I still need to figure out where Xantyr and his buyer are, anyway, so I might just end up accidentally finding him._

 **(Stealth Check: 17+4/10)** Markus carefully sidled against the wall before peering into the open doorway. Inside, he could see a liquor cabinet set along the left wall. It was close enough to him that he could see it held closed with a simple lock. In the middle of the room sat a gilded table with four ornate wooden chairs surrounding it. There were a couple of fancy plates on it, crusted with food scraps and waiting to be cleared. There was also a fruit basket set as the table centerpiece.

On the right wall was a serving window that allowed for a clear view of the kitchen area beyond it. From what he could see, it was a pretty standard kitchen with meat of some kind on a spit rotating over a heating element. More importantly, however, he could see two guys by said meat. He assumed they were the two he heard while stuck in the closet, and they currently had their backs to the serving window.

Set on the other side of the room was another door that led further into the mansion. It was closed, so there was no way right now to know what was beyond it. He could easily sneak to it, though, as long as he stayed under the serving window's viewing range.

His mind set, Markus quietly made his way into the dining room. He made sure to close the door so to at least have a slight warning if someone came in. He then quickly sidled along the right wall and crouched under the serving window.

"Wouldn't it be faster if we cut it into pieces?" one of the guys asked. "It's gonna take forever at this rate!"

"And what about the other guys?" the second said with a light chuckle. "They see us eating, they'll start raising a stink about us not making enough for everyone. You know they love to complain about it."

"Ugh, tell me about it!"

 _Just keep talking,_ Markus thought as he now crossed half the room.

"They need to learn how to cook their own food, though. We're not always gonna be around to play the kitchen maid," the second grumbled. "And besides, I want to eat now! I swear; the guys are just a bunch of lazy asses."

"Man, stop whining like a little kid. If you're that hungry, go to the dining room and munch on some fruit. You need some variety in your diet, anyway."

Markus's eyes widened in panic. _No, don't come out here!_

"My diet's not that bad! Still, I suppose it's better than nothing. Hope there's apples out there."

The Dragonborn mentally cursed; he had almost snuck through without issues. Now he had to find a place to hide, but that would be difficult. The dining room was rather spacious; there was no place to really keep out of sight. The liquor cabinet was set up along the other wall, and he was still too far to go through the door he was trying to reach. Hopping through the serving window was out of the question unless he was desperate to be caught.

The only other spot that could possibly work was under the table. The chairs might help provide some cover, but anyone paying attention would notice someone was there. It also did not help he was wearing dark clothing and the carpet was blood red. Still, he figured it was better to try than having to deal with shifters.

 **(Stealth Check: 14+4/12+3)** Markus did not have time to crawl underneath it, however, when one of the guards came out. Yet by some miracle, the guard never noticed him rapidly sidling back under the serving window. This was because the guard was busy wiping his face with a cloth most likely taken from the kitchen. He only stopped as he approached the table, but he had already walked by.

Not wanting to waste this chance, Markus quickly snuck the rest of the way to the door. He took a quick look behind him to see if he was still undetected. The guard was busy digging through the bowl of fruit in search of an apple.

 _Okay, that was beyond stupid! How the hell did I make it through that?_ he wondered while passing into the next room. He had forgotten in his rush to check if there was anyone there, but it seemed he completely lucked out that it was just a stairwell that led downwards. It also helped that the door itself was silent. He breathed a sigh of relief.

 _So now we have stairs leading down. What're the chances I actually found the basement without meaning to? If so, then finding Garrett will be easier than I thought._ Markus smiled as he slowly made his way down. He made sure to test each stair in case any of them creaked. The last thing he needed was to be trapped from both ends.

When he reached the bottom, he noticed the hallway went straight a bit before turning to the left. He once again sidled up against the wall as he neared the corner and carefully peered his head around.

 **(Stealth Check: 17+4/20)** The bend opened up into what he figured to be a cellar. The room itself was pretty wide, the walls lined with various crates and sacks. Some of them were open, exposing their contents to the world. It was a wonderful mix of produce and grains. One of the crates even had piles of salted meats in it. A few pieces littered the floor because it was so full.

That was not the only thing there, however. Shoved up against the far wall was a simple wooden table. A chair was next to it, and there was a guard on it currently snoring his life away. Next to him was another door that he seemed to be keeping watch over. He could see it jiggling slightly as if someone was trying to open it from the other side. It never opened, though, thus indicating it was locked.

 _Bet that guy has the key. Too bad for him I can just pick my way in,_ Markus thought with a smile as he patted at his thieving tools in his side pouch. _Now the question is whether or not I can do this without him waking up. He's pretty close to the door already; one mistake could easily have him on my ass. At least I don't have to try taking his keys and accidentally wake him up that way._

 **(Stealth Check: 4+4/1)** Confident the guard was in a deep sleep, the Dragonborn slowly walked over to the door. He also pocketed a couple oranges and an apple as he passed the open crate containing them.

After reaching the door, he crouched in front of it and examined the lock. He found it was of a simple design, nothing too complicated that his tools could not handle. So apart for being an improvised cell, it seemed to be a separate room dedicated to housing more valuable items. He took out his lockpicking tools and got to work.

 **(Dexterity Check: 7+2+2/5)** The lock ended up being simpler to handle than he thought. He worked on it for just a few seconds before hearing the telltale click of the door unlocking. He looked over at the guard to make sure the subtle sound did not wake him, still not sure if he was also a shifter. Whether or not he was, he simply mumbled incoherently a bit before going back to light snoring.

 **(Death Save #4: 20)** Markus suddenly heard groaning coming from the other side just as he was about to open the door. He paused and pressed his ear against the wood in an attempt to gauge any potential dangers.

"What happened?" a man moaned. It was clear he was in pain.

"You got knocked upside the head," another person said. This one also belonged to a man, though they sounded young. "It was a pretty solid hit, too. Wasn't sure when or if you'd be waking up."

"Ugh, feels like I'm supposed to be dead. I'll probably need a healer or a damn good potion when I get out!"

"Would you settle for a Goodberry?" the younger man offered. "The guards managed to miss taking it when they took my belongings."

"Better than nothing. Where is it?"

"In my pants pocket. Just shove your hand in there and get it."

Markus raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. That definitely was not what he expected to hear. Clearly, the two men inside had nothing to do with the guards. They must be the prisoners he heard about earlier. All he had to do now was go in and get them out of here. He hesitated a moment upon getting a mental image of what he might see, but he banished the thought and quietly opened the door.

It ended up his mental image was partially right. Once he had sight of the inside, he saw a Halfling withdrawing a hand from a Human's pants pocket. Both looked at Markus in surprise, obviously not expecting someone other than a guard to come in. That was when he noticed the Human's arms were tied behind his back.

"Who're you?" the human asked. Despite being tied up, the red-head was clearly ready for a fight.

"I'm Markus," the Dragonborn quietly said. His voice did not betray the embarrassment at the lewdness he thought he would see. "I heard you guys were down here and thought you might need some help."

"Nice of you to make a side trip. But why are you here? Not that I'm not grateful for busting us out; just being curious. Last I heard, those muscle-heads were patrolling this house as if it were their base."

"I'm working on intel I got from one of my contacts. It just happened you fit in with my goals. Are you Garrett, by any chance?" Markus asked as he cut the rope.

The red-head human raised an eyebrow. "Who wants to know?" The quiet Halfling continued to munch on the Goodberry,

"I'm with Skor. I learned from how you wrote that letter meant for me that you were in trouble."

"So you're the one I was spying for? Figured you might've been some big-name person or something. Skor doesn't usually put me on jobs for anything less."

 **(Perception Check: Crit Fail/5)** _Man, this guy's full of himself,_ Markus thought with a stoic stare. The twitch of his lips gave away his annoyance, however; a fact Garrett caught with a smirk.

"You're thinking I'm full of myself, aren't you? Well, I have a right to be if Skor has me under his short list for super important jobs. It takes a certain amount of finesse to operate at my level."

 **(Crit. Fail Penalty)** "So you're saying I shouldn't have wasted my time trying to get you out? That I should've just left you on your own?"

Garrett gave a cocky chuckle. "Like I said earlier, it's not that I'm not grateful for your help. I just rather you show a bit less attitude."

"Can we please talk about this _after_ we're out?" the Halfling hissed out after swallowing the Goodberry. "I don't want to be killed for trying to escape from their grasps. Did you take care of the guards before coming down here?"

This was enough to remind Markus of where he was. He responded in a quieter tone, "Just two guards that were patrolling around outside. And before you ask, I didn't kill them. I just knocked them out. The guy just outside's sleeping like a baby. At least, I hope he still is," he worriedly added.

The Halfling stared quietly for a second, seemingly looking for something. His face then changed into surprise. "You actually knocked some of them out? You must be pretty strong to take down two werewolves."

"Werewolves?" Markus repeated with a raised eyebrow. "They were werewolves?"

"Along with everyone else in here," Garrett said with a snort. "I wanted to put that down in my letter, but one of them was watching me like a hawk. Apparently, they wanted you to be as unprepared as possible."

"Werewolves," the Dragonborn repeated once more. "Are you serious? God, I'm so happy I'm wearing that guard's armor! It's probably the only thing that's keeping them from outright knowing I'm even here.

"Come on; let's get out of here." He peeked out into the previous room to see if the guard had woken up. Amazingly enough, he was still asleep. If he was a werewolf, then he must have been a really deep sleeper to have not heard them talking. He then snuck past him and scanned the area before motioning for the others to follow. "Try not to make any noise; I'm not equipped to kill them."

"Obviously," Garrett mumbled while pushing the Halfling in front of him. "You should be like me and have some backup weapons with you for emergencies."

Markus merely rolled his eyes as he led the way. At least he now knew Garrett was not unarmed; the question then was whether or not his weapons will work on a pack of werewolves. Even the dumbest of idiots knew only silver weapons and magic could hurt them. He considered himself was stupid lucky to have choked out two with relative ease. It made him wonder then if the Human actually thought that far ahead with his weapon choice.

 **(Stealth Check: 17+4/1, 16/1, 18+5/1)** Thankfully, they made it across without incident. The guard continued his heavy snoring. **(Sleight of Hand Check: 6+4/1)** Garrett even managed to take a piece of salt pork and was munching on it.

"I'm so glad they put him on guard duty," the Halfling noted. "They probably figured he wouldn't be able to mess it up with his sleeping habit."

This comment caught Markus's attention. "You know these guys?"

The other scoffed. "More like I was forced to work for them. They found me, found a use for me, and kept me around. Pretty much slave work. Better than the alternative of being turned or killed."

The Dragonborn stopped halfway up, forcing the other two to follow suit. He then turned around and asked, "How do I know you weren't put down here as a trap in case I came down and wanted to free you?"

"Why do you think I made sure he's walking between us?" Garrett asked back before the Halfling could respond. "If he tries anything funny, I'll knock him upside the head. Now can you please keep on moving?"

"I feel like I was better off keeping my mouth shut."

Markus repressed a sigh as he continued on up the stairs. As much as he did not like the idea of a potentially former member of the enemy group with him; he knew he had no time to argue. They needed to get out of here now before all hell broke loose!

 **(Stealth Check: 11+4/15)** When he finally reached the door to the dining room, he motioned for the other two to stop. He then slowly opened it to see if there was anybody inside. **(Perception Check: 14+1/5)** He neither saw nor heard anyone. Even the kitchen area seemed empty, the two guards from earlier apparently having satisfied their hunger.

"The room's clear," he relayed to the others as he slipped into the dining room. Garrett and the Halfling quickly followed.

"Are you sure?" a voice suddenly asked.

"Wh-who's there?"

That was when they noticed movement through the serving window. Walking across it and through the kitchen door was a man of imposing stature, his muscular arms crossed in a taut fashion.

 **(Insight Check: 18-1/20)** He appeared different from the guards Markus had seen thus far. For one, he was dressed in clothing more appropriate for an upperclassmen. Perhaps he was the one who hired all the werewolf guards. His muscles also indicated he was fit enough to defend himself if necessary. Though if he already knew there were intruders, then why did he not bring anything to defend himself with? Either he possessed a level of cockiness, or he put too much faith in the guards' abilities.

 **(Perception Check: 16+1/5)** What really struck him, though, was the familiarity he felt when looking at the man's face. The shoulder-length hair, the neatly trimmed beard, the red cravat that was wrapped around his neck; they all reminded him of the family portrait he saw in the foyer. This man looked a lot like Boris! The only real difference was the lack of any grey hairs in the beard.

"I thought you said it was clear!" Garrett exclaimed in an accusatory tone. "Just what kind of two-bit criminal are you?"

"Oh, it's not his fault," the man said. His deep voice easily reverberated throughout the dining room. His right hand rubbed at the gold ring that rested on his left middle finger. "Even the best of men would have trouble noticing me while I have this on. A gift from my mother that has seen its share of use."

Markus continued to quietly stare at the man. The familiar face, the similarity in choice of clothing, the gold ring on the same hand; it all pointed to one possible answer as to who they were standing before.

"You're Gregor, aren't you?"

* * *

And so, we end this chapter on a small cliffhanger of sorts. I'll admit that I didn't really have firm idea of where this chapter would end. It just happened to be the way it is.

Anyway, allow me to explain a couple things before I leave. I'm sure some of you noticed the random **Death Save #4** I made. That is one of the invisible rolls that are happening throughout the chapter. Three others have been made previously, but Markus had no way of knowing because he had not been in the basement jail until that particular moment. It was only when he was within earshot would the Death save rolls be known to you as readers. And yes, the death save roll of 20 was a complete coincidence. I was very prepared for the Halfling to either die or simply be stabalized if and when I got Markus there.

And as to how I choose where in the house Markus will go to, it's also a matter of the dice. In this case, Markus could've either went straight to Gregor or down into the basement. I assign one with odd numbers and the other even; whatever the results are will dictate where Markus goes to. And since I got the basement result, I had to realize how long it would take for him to find it. Again, it became the even and odd scenario, this time one saying his direction is correct and the other being wrong. It's a bit more hectic when you see me doing it, but this should give you an idea of how this entire story is literally controlled by the roll of the dice.

Finally, some of the results just straight up say 20. In those instances, they are just difficulty checks; in instances of natural 20, I would have titled them as **Nat. 20**. In the absence of the **Nat. 20** title, it is just a difficulty check that is not being rolled against an actual person or otherwise living being.

And that's pretty much all I have to say here. Oh, I also have character sheets made out for all the characters that I have introduced in any given chapter. That also includes some of the minor characters such as the guards for this chapter. That is because there is the chance a fight could occur, and I need their stats to be made so I can have the battle play out as well as possible. I thankfully have yet to create an actual battle scene yet, but I guarantee that one will be coming up very soon. That will be a very interesting time when I cross that bridge.

But yeah, I do hope you all enjoyed this new chapter I made. Please don't forget to leave a review before you leave stating what you thought of it. It really helps me to gauge your response and general expectations of what you feel the story will be leading towards. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on here!


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